Should I get my house inspected prior to listing it for sale on the market?

Recently we suggested that a seller who is putting their house on the market in the next few months do a pre-listing inspection.  Granted, the house is in great shape, so it came as a surprise that we would recommend this.  The current owners wondered whether or not the potential buyers would trust the report since it would be coming from the seller and why they should do one when the buyer would do one anyway.

As I am in Los Angeles right now and just having read the Los Angeles Times, I came across a great article that addresses just this topic.  The question posed by the reader was " a friend recommended we hire a home inspector before putting our home up for sale.......what good does it do us to pay for a home inspection"? The answer is summarized below (I wish I could access the link online but could not, so I summarized below.....).

1. Providing an inspection report to a buyer demonstrates that you have nothing to hide as a seller.  It establishes a basis of trust among the parties and increases the likelihood of closing the deal in an atmosphere of good relations.

2. If an undisclosed defect is discovered after the sale of the property, it is less likely that you will be suspected of trying to have deliberately concealed the problem.

3. When you present an inspection report at the outset of a transaction, it eliminates the need to renegotiate the terms of the deal after the buyers hire their own inspector.  Usually, a seller anxiously waits the buyer's inspection, hoping some unknown problem will not kill the deal.  This anxiety is eliminated with the seller conducting their inspection. 

4. A pre-sale inspection allows you to sell the property "as-is" while still providing full disclosure. 

I would also add:

5. It gives the seller an opportunity to correct any repair issues that could cause a buyer to walk away from a deal.  In this climate of buyer uncertainty, a little upfront knowlege goes a long way. 

6. Gives the seller more control over the repair issues and their costs.

7. Gives the seller a competitive advantage over other homes for sale that do not provide up front inspections.

In this real estate market and highly uncertain times, I would highly encourage sellers to do a pre-listing inspection. 

Comment Notification

Subscribe to this post's comments using RSS